Destruction Where I Stand
by Belladonna Andromeda
Summary: SSHP. There was an uproar in the Wizarding World and Harry Potter, as usual, was the cause of it.
1. Chapter 1

Name – Destruction Where I Stand

Genre – Romance/Drama

Style – AU

Warnings – (In future chapters) Slash, Het, Bi, Violence

Book/Anime – Harry Potter

_Chapter I – The Marauders Return_

There was an uproar in Wizarding World and Harry Potter, as usual, was the cause of it. He felt sick to his stomach as Aurors, who were both very tall and twice as wide as he was, dragged him by his arms to a trial that would change his life and, consequently, the lives of many others.

The trial of Sirius Black.

His numbed mind barely registered the stares and whispers of the passing blurs he eventually realized were people. He closed his eyes, silently willing them to go away. He had half a mind to warn the Aurors that if they didn't slow their steps he might vomit on their shoes, but decided against it when he felt a sudden ice-cold and familiar breeze.

Harry opened his eyes and regretted it when he spotted at least a dozen Dementors – cloaked in black and floating the air rather gleefully – but they didn't hold his attention for long. There – in the middle of the room was a cage and in it was –

"Sirius!" Harry screamed, or attempted to. His throat, apparently, hadn't been prepared for a loud exclamation of shock so his godfather's name came out as an almost unidentifiable croak.

Nonetheless several heads turned towards them. They all looked rather pale – some looked slightly green and others had a thin sheet of cold sweat on their foreheads.

It took a while for Harry to realize that, this time, they were staring at _him_ so as to avoid having to stare at someone whom they believed to be Voldemort's number one supporter being force-fed a large dose of Veritaserum.

Harry's heart sank when he saw that Sirius struggled not to choke on the bottle a hard-faced Auror shoved down his throat. Wasn't Veritaserum poisonous if taken in large quantaties, Harry thought hysterically.

To his relief, the Aurors dropped him, rather unceremoniously, in a seat in the witness stands. He was sitting inbetween Remus Lupin and Albus Dumbledore, and immediately noticed how no one, but him and Dumbledore were sitting near his former DADA teacher. It took him several moments to remember that Remus was a werewolf and people, whether Wizard or Muggle, were terrified of werewolves.

His stomach clenched even more and it took all of Harry's self-control not to shrink into a ball, clutching his abdomen in pain.

He recognized others as well, including – Harry swallowed heavily – Severus Snape. A man who had tried his damndest to be the one to catch his godfather and surrender him to the Dementors and their dark Kiss. But, Snape didn't seem to be enjoying himself. In fact, he looked like had spend some time in Azkaban himself.

Harry glared at him nonetheless. It was _his _fault. He convinced Dumbledore to hand Sirius over so that he could have a trial – a trial that anyone who knew anything about the Ministry knew he wouldn't win.

A large, but thin hand made Harry jump when it landed on his shoulder. "Harry?"

"Professor Dumbledore, sir." Harry managed to gasp. "I can't – this is..."

"It's alright, Harry." Dumbledore said. He gave him a small smile, but Harry couldn't help but notice that the twinkle in his blue eyes was missing.

"It's not alright." Harry whispered angrily. How could Dumbledore have let this happen?

"They'll have no choice but to believe Sirius. He's been given a truth serum so he can't lie."

"Does it matter?" Harry wondered out loud.

"Of course it matters!" Remus snapped rather harshly, making Harry jump. He noticed that the Dementors had even managed to drain Remus' brilliant golden eyes of their usual warmth and kindness. They were transfixed on Sirius' shivering form. "It _has_ to matter."

It occured to Harry that Remus, who knew Sirius far longer than him and must've spend the last week trying to deal with the immense guilt of letting his best friend, an innocent man, rot in Azkaban for years, was probably suffering more than he was.

Oddly enough, seeing Remus's anguish made Harry forget all about his own. But he, for the life of him, couldn't think of anything to say that might comfort him.

He forced himself to look as the hard-faced Auror magically screwed long, sharp black nails into the cage. Sirius couldn't move in inch – his hands were cuffed behind his back and if he so much as breathed to deeply he would become a human porcupine.

"Sirius." Harry whispered to no one.

"SILENCE!" A stern-looking wizard sitting on a high chair in a raised platform roared. Harry's heart leaped into his throat. For a moment he thought the man had heard him. "I, Barty Crouch, dealt with the case of Sirius Black upon his first capture." The man said impressively, "Therefore, Minister Fudge," He nodded at Fudge who gave a weak nod in return, "decided that I should oversee his second hearing."

"You mean his first," Harry muttered darkly, "You never gave him one before."

Remus shushed him, a deep frown marring his forehead.

"As you've all clearly witnessed," Crouch continued, "the accused has consumed a powerful truth serum. We must all therefore believe that whatever words the accused will speak are the truth, or what he believes to be the truth." He added.

It couldn't have been more plain that Barty Crouch thought that Sirius was anything but innocent.

"Who made the truth serum?" Harry asked in an attempt to distract himself.

"Severus did not make it, if that's what you are asking." Dumbledore said softly. "It was brewed by an equally gifted Potions Master from Africa. They did not want it to be made by someone who has had any kind of contact with Sirius, whether good or bad."

"SILENCE!" Crouch roared again, glaring in the general direction of the witness stands. "The hearing has started!"

He slammed an impressive gavel onto it's tiny stool. The sound was enough to render Harry momentarily deaf. He stared at the object, wondering whether it was magical and if it would help Sirius if it was, but his thoughts were interrupted: it was happening. It was beginning.

"You're name is Sirius Orion Black?"

"Yes." Sirius wheezed.

Harry could see he was moving very carefully as if trying to find a position that would be more comfortable.

"You are the son of Orion and Walburga Black?"

"Yes."

"Older brother of Regulus Black? A known Death Eater in his time."

"Objection!" A ferocious-looking witch, who had been sitting quietly somewhere beside the witness stands, rose to her feet, "It states clearly in our Laws that the actions of the accused's family and friends are entirely unrelated to those of the accused."

"Unless you can prove that the _illegal_ actions of a friend or family member had an effect on the accused which enabled him or her to commit their crime, Mrs. Parel." Crouch snapped back.

"You have evidence that proves that the actions of Regulus Black helped steer his older brother into committing a mass murder?" Mrs. Parel did not flinch under Crouch's stare, but her eyes narrowed in warning, "A mass murder he is yet to be found guilty of, I might add."

"He _has_ been found guilty!" Crouch spat.

"Actually, Mr Crouch, evidence shows that Sirius Black has never had a fair trial thus it is impossible for you or anyone else to have found him guilty of anything."

Crouch looked livid. "Very well!" He resigned to her reasoning, very begrudgingly.

"Who is she?" Harry said, taking an instant liking to the witch that rushed to defend his godfather despite the fact that she must've lived most of her life thinking he was indeed guilty of a horrible crime.

"Tilena Parel." Dumbledore said, but he did not elaborate.

"Sirius Black!" Crouch snapped, "Did you or did you not kill Peter Pettigrew as well as twelve innocent Muggle bystanders?"

"I did not." Sirius said, looking uncomfortable still, but much calmer than Harry was feeling.

"Liar!"

"Objection!" Mrs. Parel rose to her feet again, giving Crouch a scalding look, "The accused has taken an approved truth serum from Angtul Inkinti, a renown African Potions Master! He cannot be lying!"

Crouch was shaking in his seat. "Fine." He hissed through clenched teeth. "Black, if you did not commit these murders than why were you found at the scene of the crime?"

"I was trying to kill Peter Pettigrew-"

"Aha!"

"-but he escaped."

"Escaped? _Escaped?!_" Crouch looked quite mad, "He didn't escape. You blew him to pieces!"

Harry couldn't breathe. This was not going the way he would've liked. He glanced hopefully at Mrs. Parel but she was watching Sirius to see how he'd respond.

"No, I did not." Sirius said plainly. "Peter Pettigrew escaped. He killed those twelve Muggles, cut off his finger and turned into a rat."

A stunned silence followed.

"Rat?" Crouch's expression of shock would've been comical in almost any other situation.

Sirius nodded or tried to. He gave the needles closest to his face a grimace. "Peter Pettigrew, James Potter and myself became illegal Animagus in order to comfort our friend, Remus Lupin, during his full moon transformations. Peter turned into a rat. James is a stag and I am a Grim."

Harry vaguely felt Dumbledore shift abrubtly beside him, but he was too busy looking at Crouch's reaction to care.

"Animagus?" Crouch repeated blankly before going through some of the papers on his desk.

Mrs. Parel stood up. "Mr. Crouch, I believe the accused was quite clear. He said that they became Animagus _illegally_ in order to aid their werewolf friend thus you will not find any of them registered."

"I know that!"

Mrs. Parel smirked. "Then I would like to suggest calling forth this werewolf friend as a witness."

"Remus Lupin, come forth!" Crouch roared immediately, as if that was what he'd been planning on doing all along.

Harry turned to see Remus swallow thickly before standing with his fists clenched so tightly that his whole hand turned white.

"You are Remus Lupin?"

"Yes."

"A registered werewolf?"

"Yes."

Crouch glared at Remus. "Is it true that Peter Pettigrew, James Potter and the accused illegally became Animagus to... help you?"

"Yes, it is true."

"And you were aware that it was illegal at the time?"

Remus hesitated before nodding. "Yes, but -"

"And you did nothing to stop them despite knowing this?"

"Objection!" Once again, Mrs. Parel rose to her feet.

"Alright, alright." Crouch sneered before she could say anything else, "You may sit down. Black! Were _you_ aware of the fact-"

"Objection!"

"-that becoming an Animagus for the sake of a _werewolf -_"

"_Objection!_" Mrs. Parel spat. "You are attempting to use wizard's prejudices against werewolves to-"

"Fine!" Crouched glared at her. Mrs. Parel glared right back.

"I was indeed aware at the time that becoming an unregistered Animagus was illegal." Sirius said, surprisingly everyone, "But since I was doing it for the sake of a very good friend, who was suffering monthly an excrusiating pain, I found it worth the risks."

"And yet," Crouch began after he recovered, "you were quick to accuse this good friend of associating with He Who Must Not Be Named after you left school."

Harry felt Remus stiffen beside him.

"No." Sirius said immediately, "I have never, not once in my life, believed Remus to be in league with Voldemort-" The entire room seemed to gasp as one, "- or any other dark wizard."

"Then, dear me, why did you register him?" A witch who reminded Harry of a toad said in a sickeningly sweet giggle. "It doesn't make sense."

"I thought Remus would be an easy target for the Imperius Curse. I knew he was being hunted down by Fenrir Greyback who was attempting to recruit as many werewolves as he could whether they were willing or not. Remus would've been quite a gem. A werewolf, probably the first who's ever received a proper education, and the best part was that no one but a handful of people knew he was a werewolf. I registered him to try and make him less..._valuable_ to them... in the hopes that they'd give up the chase."

"You were trying to protect me? And I a-accused you..." Harry heard Remus whisper. He knew his former professor was fighting back tears and didn't dare look at him.

"But werewolves are very hard to jinx." Crouch said.

"That depends on how hard you try though, doesn't it?" Sirius replied, "As strong as Remus is, I doubt he'd be able to shake off an Imperius Curse from Vol-"

"_Thank_ you." The toad-witch interrupted with a hideously sweet smile.

"Alright." Crouch said. He smirked. "Tell me, why were you trying to kill Peter Pettigrew?"

"Because he was James and Lily's Secret Keeper. He betrayed them." Sirius's face turned dark. "I convinced them to switch because I thought no one would expect Peter to be their Secret Keeper. I thought I was a much more likely choice so I... but the coward turned them in."

"Peter Pettigrew in league with You Know Who?" Crouch said, his eyes narrowing. "Impossible. The boy was a Gryffindor and a good friend of James Potter and his wife."

"I'm a Gryffindor and I am James Potter's best friend yet you didn't hesitate to send me to Azkaban." Sirius replied, grimacing at Crouch. "Without a trail." He added.

Crouch sneered at him. "All the evidences pointed at you."

"What evidence?!" Sirius roared, and Harry, to his horror, saw tears running down his face, "You didn't bother searching for evidence! I'm innocent!"

The room went silent. Everyone turned to look at Mrs. Parel who rose to her feet.

"I would like to call forth a few witnesses if possible, Mr. Crouch."

Crouch looked faint as he nodded wordlessly.

"Bellatrix Lestrange, come forth!"

A beautiful woman rose from the far back of the witness stands. Her hands, like Sirius', were cuffed behind her back and the resemblance between her and Sirius was uncanny. She, like Sirius, was extraordinairily beautiful. Or used to be. Unlike Sirius, she never had the chance to recover from whatever horrors lie within Azkaban.

"Yes?" She drawled.

"You are Bellatrix Lestrange? A known Death Eater and cousin to Sirius Black?"

"Yes!" She said, a manic smile forming on her twisted face that couldn't seem to decide whether to remain beautiful or turn ugly, "A _proud_ Death Eater!" Her smile vanished, "But _that_ piece of filth hasn't been family of mine for years."

"Filth?" Crouch frowned, giving her a suspicious look.

"A blood traitor! Like you – like _all_ of you! You're a fool to believe that this _thing-_" She seethed at Sirius who gave a hateful look in return. "- was loyal to the Dark Lord. He was never one to recognize greatness when he saw it, running around with Gryffindors. He's a shame to the House of Black!"

"Thank you." Mrs. Parel said, looking quite unimpressed as Bellatrix continued to throw a fit, calling Sirius every bad word she could think of. "Rodolphus Lestrange, come forth."

A man stood up, also cuffed. He was tall and muscular. He had an untrimmed beard that made him look even more unclean, "Aye?"

"Have you ever seen Sirius Black amongst your fellow Death Eaters?"

"Never." He said, glowering darkly.

"Have you ever heard or seen anything to suggest he was loyal to He Who Must Not Be Named?"

"Never." He repeated, swaying as if it took too much energy for him to stand as opposed to his wife who was fighting tooth and nail against three bulky Aurors.

"Thank you." Mrs. Parel turned to Crouch, "I, personally, find this enough evidence to prove that Sirius Black is innocent."

"Well, I don't." Crouch snapped.

"Each of them have taken Veritaserum, also brewed by Angtul Inkinti. Therefore, they were both speaking the truth. Sirius Black did not have and never did have any loyalty to You Know Who. In fact, I have evidence to prove that he was an active member of the Order of the Phoenix, an organization made by Albus Dumbledore," Mrs. Parel nodded at Hogwarts' Headmaster, "to fight against You Know Who and his followers."

Crouch gaped at her, seemingly unable to think of anything that would once again make Sirius seem guilty.

"It's over." Harry whispered, feeling the knot in his stomach untangle and relief wash over him like a tsunami. "He's going to be free."

"Not so fast, Harry." Remus whispered back. He was still pale and did not look as reassured. "They still have to vote."

"Yes, but-"

"Think about it, Harry. What would it look like if people found out the Ministry have put an innocent man in Azkaban for over twelve years while the real culprit walked free? There are people who'll vote against his release simply to avoid that."

Harry felt the knot return. He snapped his head back at Crouch who seemed so deep in thought that he looked pained.

"Alright." He said finally. Harry could not read his expression. "Those who vote in favor of clearing the name of accused?"

Harry closed his eyes. He didn't know what he would do if they sent him back to Azkaban despite knowing he was innocent. He'd go crazy. He kept his eyes shut and waited. It seemed like forever. He could hardly breathe.

"CLEARED!" Crouch's voice echoed through the room.

Harry opened his eyes and, to his amazement and relief and sheer joy, he saw over half of the Wizengamot had their hands raised in favor of releasing his godfather.

"Free?" He gasped, not quite believing it. "He's free! _He's free!_"

Harry was half aware of Bellatrix's cries of _'blood traitor!'_. He needed all his self-control not to bound over to Sirius, blast the cage apart, hug him and never let go. Sirius was free. He would no longer have to return to the Dursleys. He would be living with Sirius in a house in the Wizarding World.

No more starvation, no more neglect and cruel punishments for things he didn't do.

Harry cried.

When Remus Lupin, as overcome by the events as Sirius and himself – with his golden eyes looking even more radiant than ever, enveloped him in the warmest embrace that shattered all of Harry's emotional defenses, he found that he didn't care if anyone saw or heard.

They were _free_.

...

For now.


	2. Chapter 2

Name – Destruction Where I Stand

Genre – Romance/Drama

Style – AU

Warnings – Slash, Het, Bi, Violence

Book/Anime – Harry Potter

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**A big thank you to the people who reviewed. I really appreciate it. Feedback and constructive critism is always welcome.**

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_Chapter II – The Marauders Return, Part 2_

"Sirius!" Remus was the first to spot him walking towards them. They had been waiting in one of the private rooms for at least an hour. Snape had gotten impatient and left after fifteen minutes. And now they knew why it took so long.

It took Harry a moment to recognize his godfather.

Someone had borrowed Sirius a ministry suit – a set of simple black dress robes with shiny boots. He had apparently also taken a bath somewhere in the time they'd been waiting for him.

Harry gaped.

He knew Sirius was beautiful. He knew from the photos that Hagrid had given him, but _wow_ – freedom after years of prisonment had done his godfather good. His mated hair was shiny and cascaded down his back and over his shoulders in gentle waves. His face was clean and it was evident that any wrinkle Harry had seen before had been an illusion caused by grime. His skin was smooth and gleaming. His eyes were the most amazing shade of grey. But, best of all, he looked healthy. As if Azkaban had never happened.

Harry opened his mouth, smiling so broadly that his cheeks hurt, but he couldn't think of anything to say. _'You're gorgeous' _was the first thing that came to mind, but that didn't seem very appropriate to say to your godfather. Instead, he just smiled.

The smile he got in return could've summoned angels. "Hey," Sirius said softly.

"Hey." Harry said back, feeling nervous all of a sudden.

The moment was unintentionally interrupted by Remus, who stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Sirius's chest. They stood there, in a tight embrace, as if neither one was willing to let the other go.

After a while, Remus lifted his head. "Sirius..." He choked.

"It's okay, Moony." Sirius gave a brilliant laugh, "Everything is alright."

He released Remus and spun around before gaving them all a wink. "How do I look?"

"Brilliant." Harry blurted out before he could stop himself, "Like your old self. Like, like a free man."

Sirius laughed, that magnificently loud, bark-like laughter that was contagious. Both Remus and Harry were helpless against it and joined in, even though it wasn't all that funny.

But Harry's laughter died in his throat when Sirius, still laughing, grabbed Remus's head and proceeded to snog him senseless. Remus's golden eyes widened in surprise.

"Eh?" Harry turned to Dumbledore, but he merely smiled at the scene, unbothered by the fact that he was watching two men kissing each other very passionately.

Harry blushed. "Eh?" He tried again. This time he succeeded in catching the Headmaster's attention.

"Yes, Harry?"

Harry pointed wordlessly at his godfather and former DADA teacher made out as if they'd die if they didn't.

Dumbledore blinked bemused, "Well, you have to understand that they've been separated for nearly thirteen years."

"But... men... both..." Harry stuttered.

Dumbledore smiled kindly, "I'm afraid I don't understand you, Harry. Are you perhaps uncomfortable by the display of their love or are you trying to tell me that you are having troubles digesting the fact that you're godfather is stupendously in love with another man?"

"It's... normal then?"

Dumbledore gave him an assessing look before his face softened into an expression of understanding. "Ah, you are worried that their love might lead to nasty rumors and prejudice. Not to worry, dear boy. The Wizarding World is very open-minded when it comes to love. And lust." He added.

"So it's okay?"

"It's very okay, Harry. No one will try to hurt them simply for being two men in love."

"But what about Remus?" Harry was half-aware of the fact that Remus and his godfather had stopped kissing and were watching him intently. "He's a werewolf. Will they try to hurt him?"

"They might." Dumbledore admitted with a frown, "You must understand that most wizards don't see werewolves as people. They are viewed and classified as dark creatures. Some will say that their union is dishonorable, perverted even. Some will refer to it as bestiality."

Something white-hot erupted in Harry's chest, "_What?_ Bestiality?!" He wipped his head around to face his father figures. For some reason, Remus flinched and Sirius embraced him even tighter.

"Never." He hissed through his teeth to prevent himself from shouting, so furious that he could barely speak, "Never listen to the _idiots_ who _dare_ to make you out as an animal, Remus! _Bestiality! _They... you... don't _dare_..." He was so angry all he could do was stutter.

But he seemed to have gotten his point across. Remus's face lit up in almost the same way as it did when Sirius got cleared. His eyes became suspiciously bright. "Harry."

It suddenly occured to Harry that they had been afraid he might not approve of their relationship. That he, like some would, might think it... perverted.

"Never." He repeated firmly. "I love you both and you two _belong together_. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

A silence followed that made Harry feel rather uncomfortable until Sirius burst out laughing again. He blinked at his godfather in confusion, wondering whether he did something funny only to realize that it, like before, was the kind of unstoppable laughter caused by immense relief.

"You are definitely James's son. Wait until he hears!"

Time seemed to freeze. Harry's breath hitched. Remus's face went blank while Dumbledore's hardened to the point where he looked very intimidating.

"Sirius Black." said Dumbledore, "I'm afraid that I don't understand. James Potter is dead. As is Lily Evans."

"Dead?" Sirius gasped, still chuckling, "No, they're not dead. They've been cursed, yes, but they're not _dead_."

"They're alive?" Harry whispered numbly. Dare he hope it? Dare he hope another miracle would happen – in the same day no less? "My parents are alive?"

"Enough!" Remus snapped, suddenly vicious, "Sirius, what are you saying? Lily and James are dead – everyone saw them. I was at their funeral! Don't make jokes like that!"

"I'm not joking." Sirius said, no longer laughing. "They're alive."

"He's taken a truth serum." Harry whispered, more to himself than anyone else, "He can't be lying."

Dumbledore glanced at him, "It's true that the dose they forced rather brutally down Sirius's throat was strong enough for us to assume that it's still in effect, however – Harry, you must realize that just because Sirius believes it to be the truth doesn't make it the truth."

Remus nodded stiffly, glaring at Sirius, "Sirius is confused. He's traumatized. He said the same thing to me when I found him waiting for me at my home after escaping on Buckbeak."

"It's true." Sirius insisted, giving Remus a pleading look that the werewolf ignored.

"They're _dead_, Sirius. Please, I know it's hard to accept-"

"It's true!" Sirius pressed, looking a little angry, "When I was at Godric's Hollow I took a good look at the bodies and they weren't dead I tell you. It was like they'd taken the Drought of Living Death – they just _seemed_ dead. I transfigured them before I left to go after Peter and they've been living in the Forbidden Forest in the transfigured form ever since because I never came back to undo the spell!"

Remus didn't look convinced. Neither did Dumbledore. Harry wanted to believe him – desperately wanted to believe that it was true. That his parents were alive all this time, watching over him from the Forbidden Forest.

_Something must've warned Firenze in your first year when you were about to be attacked by a possessed Quirrell_, hissed a voice in his mind as it was trying very hard to make logic was what Sirius said.

He could've followed me.

_Why should he though? You saw the other centaur, Bane – he knew you were there and yet he did nothing to stop the attack. Something must've persuaded Firenze to come to your defense and bring you back to safety, right? How high are the chances that he did that out of his own?_

I don't know – I'm not very familiar with the culture and customs of centaurs now, am I?

_No, but you're clever enough to know that something big, for the lack of a better word, caused Firenze to turn his back on those customs despite risking exile from his herd._

_And what about those nightmares you keep having? The green light and the screams... _The voice continued, _what if they weren't simply nightmares? What if they were dreams trying to tell you that James and Lily Potter survived – just like their son. Dead people don't scream, you know. Cedric didn't..._

It can't be true, can it? Harry grabbed his face, overcome with all sorts of feelings and emotions that he had no way of handling all at once. It was painful.

"Look!" He heard Remus snap angrily, "Look, you've upset him! Just let it go, Sirius."

"No!" Sirius sounded equally as angry, "They're alive, damn it. Just give me the chance to prove it. Let's go to the Forbidden Forest and I can _prove _it."

"No! You-"

"Please." Harry choked, effectively stopping Remus from finishing his sentence. The three men turned to look at him.

"Harry, I'm sorry." Sirius said, walking towards him.

"You're giving him false hope." Remus hissed.

"_Please_." Harry said more sharply before they could start arguing again, "I need to see."

Remus froze. "Harry-" He began, looking torn.

"I need to see for myself whether it's true or not." This time Harry looked at Dumbledore. He knew that if Dumbledore allowed it then it would happen, "Please."

Dumbledore sighed, looking older than ever, "Harry," He croaked, "I'm not going to stop you nor Sirius from going into the Forbidden Forest, but I implore you not to waste your lives away searching. I give you until the start of school. No more and no less."

"Then, let's not waste any time!" Sirius exclaimed grandly, smiling nervously at Harry.

Harry nodded and returned the smile though rather weakly.

Remus looked from Sirius to Harry and back. "You can't be... surely, you don't..." Remus spluttered indignantly, having lost his calm a while ago, "Oh, _hell_, Sirius, if you end up scarring Harry more than he already has been..."

"I'll kiss a Dementor before I'd do that, love. You know that."

Remus's glare wiped the smug smirk off of Sirius's face, "I'm going with you!"

"Of course, you are. James would wonder why you didn't come if you don't. Not to mention Lily will be expecting you to help keep us in line once we're reunited.' Sirius quickly changed the subject when Remus began shaking in indignation – the werewolf's eyes were changing from warm liquid gold to a feral sort of yellow, "Harry! We shall go immediately. Returning home can wait, agreed?"

"Agreed." Harry said quickly.

Sirius gave him a reassuring smile. "They're alive, Harry. Trust me."

They didn't leave for the Forbidden Forest immediately, despite Sirius' protests, they were all tired after the trial. A ministry car was waiting for them. They decided, or rather Remus decided for them, that they would be staying at his house for now.

Remus's house reminded Harry somewhat of Hagrid's cabin. It was small – there were only three rooms. A tiny living room with a kitchen that was also used as dining room, a bedroom barely large enough to fit a single bed and a wardrobe that looked ready to fall apart, and the smallest room was used as a storage area – mostly for food and books.

The house was located in the clearing in the middle of a forest. Wherever it was, it was far away from the rest of society, but Harry didn't mind in the slightest. He had a feeling that journalists and reporters were going to have a hard time trying to find him when he himself didn't even know where he was.

"It's not much." Remus said, sporting a blush. "But at least it's warm and-"

"It's great." Harry breathed. It had the same warm-family feel as The Burrow. He immediately felt at home, more at home than he had ever felt at Privet Drive.

He spotted a cauldron beside the fireplace. It was filled with a potion that he recognized at once. "Wolfsbane."

"Severus brewed it for me." Remus said as he transfigured the rug and a chair into two sleeping bags.

"Severus?" Harry repeated incredulously while Sirius's expression darkened, "As in Professor Snape?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Perhaps Dumbledore persuaded him or maybe he feels a little guilty for revealing my secret to all of Hogwarts." Remus shrugged. "Either way, I'm not going to complain."

Sirius growled, but said nothing. Harry didn't really know what to say. He found it very difficult to believe that Snape would brew a whole cauldron of very complex and expensive potion because he'd suddenly grown a conscience. And he somehow doubted that even Dumbledore would be able to convince the man-bat to do something so nice for one of his father's friends.

"Are you hungry?" Remus said before glaring at Sirius. Harry noticed that his godfather was putting tremendous effort into keeping his eyes open. "Sirius, go to sleep."

"No, I'm good."

"You're not good. Don't be so stubborn."

"It's okay." Harry said, smiling at Sirius when he looked doubtful, "I'm fine. You can go to sleep. I won't mind."

Sirius looked as if he was trying to gather enough energy to jump up and prove that he was fine, but decided against it. "Alright," He sighed, sounding exhausted. He stood up, slumped over to give Remus and Harry a goodnight kiss and dropped himself on top of one of the sleeping bags.

Sirius was out like a light the minute Remus placed a makeshift pillow under his head. His soft snores soon filled the house.

Harry and Remus gave him fond looks as Harry sat politely on one of the dining stools while Remus made them some sandwiches. He hadn't realized just how hungry he was until there was a plate of bread and bacon in front of him. He inhaled his food with as many manners as he could.

"Harry?" Remus began softly, after a few minutes of half-heartedly poking his own sandwiches. Harry froze – he knew what was coming, "You don't really believe that-that your parents are alive, do you?"

Harry stared at his plate, not really knowing what to say. Maybe he could pretend he hadn't heard him?

"I know how you feel – a part of you desperately wants to believe that he's right, but I saw them, Harry. How could I have seen their bodies, been at their funeral, when Sirius transfigured them?"

"Maybe they were fakes? Maybe he transfigured something into resembling their bo-bodies so that it would trick the Death Eaters?"

Remus gave him a pitying look that made him angry, "Harry, please. Don't do this to yourself."

"I _need_ to _know_." Harry said clearly. He ignored anything else Remus had to say on the subject. His former DADA teacher soon got the hint and left him alone.

"You can have the bed, Harry." Remus said, sounding tired.

"No, I-"

"You're taking the bed." Remus repeated, giving him a stern look before settling himself in the sleeping bag next to Sirius's.

Harry sighed, but relented.

It took a long time before he fell asleep. He laid awake dreaming about what would happen if they found his parents alive and well in the Forbidden Forest and berating himself for being too hopeful.

A part of him agreed with Remus – maybe it wasn't such a good idea to give himself false hope, but he _had_ to be certain. He would never be able to go on with his 'normal' life, always in the back of his there would be this haunting voice saying _'what if Sirius was telling the truth?'_.

He had to know.


	3. Chapter 3

Name – Destruction Where I Stand

Genre – Romance/Drama

Style – AU

Warnings – Slash, Het, Bi, Violence

Book/Anime – Harry Potter

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**A big thank you to the people who reviewed. I really appreciate it. Feedback and constructive critism is always welcome and I'll be more than happy to answer any questions.**

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_Chapter II – Family Portrait_

Harry woke up feeling like he'd been hit repeatedly by a wrecking ball. His muscles ached, his head hurt and he couldn't find his glasses.

"Here you go." Sirius said, placing a pair of unfamiliar-feeling glasses in his hand, "We bought you a new pair. Better-looking ones."

"Bought?" Harry mumbled sleepily. His mouth felt uncomfortably dry, "When?"

"We went to Diagon Alley real quick. I bought myself a new wand. Look!"

Harry put on his new glasses and blinked at his godfather. Had he always had that beauty mark on his upper lip? "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"We figured you could use some good night's rest so we let you be," Remus said. Harry squinted at him. Where did all those grey hairs go? "Are they comfortable? Can you see a little better?"

"Yeah." Harry said distractedly. Had those grey hairs really just been a trick of the light?

"Sirius insisted on buying you the most expensive ones, of course."

"Of course!" Sirius replied with a smug smile, "You like them, don't you? I can see it in your face."

Harry followed them into the tiny living room. He couldn't believe how different everything looked. More clear and vivid.

"I love them." It was like he'd been staring through a dirty glass window before. He saw details he'd never noticed before. "How much were they?"

"Never mind that." Sirius's smile widened, "Do they improve your vision a lot or just a little?"

"A lot." Harry said, still staring at Remus, "Are those freckles?"

He flinched. That had sounded quite rude, but neither Sirius nor Remus looked offended. His godfather even burst out laughing.

"Sorry," Harry said. He never really noticed just how good-looking the werewolf was. Admittedly, he didn't possess that feline pure-blood beauty, like Sirius or Lucius and Draco Malfoy, but he had a kind and gentle attractiveness that took a second or third look to appreciate. A very pleasant, almost angelic, face and a slender build.

"Yes," Remus said after a while. He had begun to fidget a little under Harry's stare, "I have freckles. Just on my nose though. They're not Weasley-worthy, but-"

"They're heinously cute." Sirius finished, giving Remus a flirtatious smirk and a wink.

"Right." Remus said dryly, though his eyes betrayed his amusement.

"They are." Harry agreed, surprising himself. He smiled, feeling the need to show them once more that he was perfectly fine with their relationship. More than fine. It felt right as if it it was simply meant to be.

Remus blushed and looked away a little too late to hide it, "Don't try and flatter me."

Sirius merely shrugged. When Remus was plating up the sausages, looking a little flustered, he leaned forwards and whispered to Harry, "I've been trying to get him to see things more positively, but so far – nothing. And he calls _me_ stubborn. Not even Padfoot could get him to lighten up. He wacked me on the nose with a book, can you believe that?"

Harry chuckled when he envisioned it. "Actually I can."

Sirius gave him an assessing look, "Just you wait, Harry. They're alive. I promise you."

Harry felt like something heavy was being lifted from his chest at those words, "Thank you."

Sirius smiled.

Remus, Harry noticed, had done a very, very good job at keeping them distracted and preoccupied for the rest of the day. He had nearly gotten them to stay put for a second day, but Sirius caught onto his schemes and threatened to burn his books if he continued to delay their journey to the Forbidden Forest.

When they were ready to leave on the third day, after which they were all sufficiently rested, the sun was already starting to set. But this time Remus, realizing that his cunning tricks weren't going to cut it this time, flat out refused to join him, hoping that they wouldn't leave without him.

"We're going whether you're coming or not." Sirius snapped, though the way he was pouting at Remus, who was standing on the doorstep, betrayed the fact that he really wanted him to come, "You said you'd come." He moaned not even a second later, confirming Harry's thoughts.

"Please." Harry added, giving Remus the puppy-eyed look that Sirius had taught him the other day.

Remus's determined glare faltered, "Fine!" He snapped, "Merlin knows what kind of trouble you two utter Gryffindors might get yourself into without me."

"You're a Gryffindor too." Sirius replied sulkily. The corners of his mouth were twitching upwards.

Harry rolled his eyes. His godfather was so obvious sometimes it was embarassing to look at. Like a true Gryffindor, Sirius wore his heart on his sleeve. The man's facial expressions said more than a dozen words.

"And to this day I wonder why. I should've been in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff." Remus muttered darkly as the three walked across a sandy path leading out of the forest clearing, "Don't know what the Sorting Hat was thinking putting me with idiots like you and James."

"It knew I was going to fall head over heels for you and decided to make it easier for me by putting us the same house. Besides, Lily's a Gyffindor too and she never blew anything up when she was at school," Sirius replied cheerfully, "Alright, Harry?"

"Nervous." Harry admitted. Truthfully, he felt sick to his stomach. He had never been so nervous in his life. A part of him wanted to wait, sit down and get himself together, but he knew that it was going to get worse the longer he waited. "Are we going on brooms?" Harry asked in an attempt to stop thinking.

"No, you're the only one of us that has a broom."

"Then how _are_ we going?" Remus said, giving Sirius a suspicious look.

"Well, you know we can't Apparate and we can't use Port Keys either."

"Sirius, don't tell me we're-" The rest of Remus's sentence was interrupted by a loud, vaguely familiar screech.

"Buckbeak!" Harry said. The Hippogriff looked as healthy as when he'd last seen him. In fact, he looked like he'd grown a bit since. He quickly gave the majestic creature a bow which was returned almost instantly.

"It's not a long journey, love, so don't worry." Sirius said to Remus as he too bowed at the Hippogriff. Remus gave him a withering look and didn't go anywhere near Buckbeak. "Storm! Cloud!"

Harry jumped when two more screeches answered his godfather's call. A dark brown Hippogriff and a pure black one appeared soon after. He bowed to them and was glad to see that they too bowed back.

"This is Storm." Sirius said, pointing at the black one, "And that's Cloud. I think she's a girl, but I'm not quite sure."

"She is," Remus growled, eyeing the Hippogriffs warily, "I can smell it."

"Cool." Harry said, impressed, "Can you really?"

Remus shrugged, "Heightened senses. One of the better side-effects of being a werewolf, I guess."

It took some time getting on the Hippogriffs as Remus didn't want to go anywhere near them ("They don't like werewolves! And werewolves don't like them!"), but in the end Sirius managed to coax him into bowing at Storm. They waited a little nervously for the black Hippogriff to return it.

Remus gave Storm a vicious glare that promptly made the Hippogriff remember how to bow back.

They didn't talk much once they were in the air. It was nearly impossible to hear anything other than the wind and the beating sounds of enormous wings. Harry's opinions on riding Hippogriffs hadn't changed. It was still uncomfortable. His thighs were sore within minutes and he spend most of the flight clinging on for life.

Remus didn't fair any better. He was getting more and more green. Sirius, however, seemed to enjoy it. He looked very at peace with himself. He was looking around at the scenery, a broad smile on his face while his long hair wiped around him and Harry was once again reminded of just how attractive his godfather was. He possessed a sense of sophisticated elegance that, oddly enough, reminded Harry of Slytherins. No, not Slytherins. Purebloods.

He glanced back at Remus. While Remus was inarguably graceful, it was different. More animalistic and raw, if that made any sense. It didn't, but Harry couldn't explain it.

For some reason, the thought that his godfather had something in common with snakes like Lucius Malfoy saddened him.

Both Harry and Remus were immensely glad to be back on the ground. While Harry didn't mind flying as long as it was on a broom, Remus didn't like leaving the ground period. It took a while for him recover.

"So," Remus gasped, still slightly green but back to his graceful self, "what are we looking for?"

"James and Lily." Sirius said, trying to sound casual and failing. He was bouncing on the spot and smiling excitedly.

"Yes, I know." Remus said, rather impatiently, "But you transfigured them, did you not?"

"Oh, right. Well, we're looking for a herd of deer. I transfigured James into a stag and Lily into a doe. I figured it would be the most comfortable for them and it would be the easiest to remember."

"Right."

Harry suddenly wished that Remus would be a little more positive about the whole thing. They'd been walking for an hour and so far he'd only supplied them with sarcastic remarks. He was beginning to sound disturbingly like Draco Malfoy.

"Well, maybe if you'd stop complaining and help us by putting those heightened senses to good use, we'll find them faster!" Harry hissed.

Remus stared at him in surprise. For a moment, he looked like he was going to say something like _'but we're NOT going to find them. Ever! They're dead!'_, but he held himself back. He sighed and sniffed the air. "I smell ruminants a little more to the west, but I'm not sure if they're deer."

"Great." Sirius said, who had become more positive the more sarcasm Remus threw his way, "Let's go."

They followed him, Harry sticking close to Sirius, half-scared that if he might miss it if he walked behind. Remus, however, made a point of staying behind them. Harry didn't know whether this annoyed him more than the snarky remarks, but he decided to let it go. He couldn't blame the werewolf for being sceptical and angry at Sirius. Truth be told, Harry didn't know what he would do if it turned out that Sirius was wrong.

The herd of ruminants Remus had smelled were indeed deer. But before Harry could get a good look at them they scattered, vanishing in the trees.

"Wait!" Sirius shouted, running after them.

"_You_ wait!" Remus barked, grabbing Sirius by the collar and pulling him back with surprising strength. "Honestly, you can't just dash after them. You'll only scare them more."

"If we don't follow them, we'll lose them." Sirius looked so eager to prove that he was right – that James and Lily Potter were alive – that, for a moment, he looked like a ten year-old boy.

Remus's reply was cut short. His ears, which were enlongated and looked rather elf-like, moved slightly as if trying to catch a certain sound.

Harry looked at the trees. It was strange. He saw the doe, who should have been running away at breakneck speed like the others, and couldn't stop himself from yelling, "Mum!"

The doe jumped, but didn't back away. She was looking curiously at them. Something a doe wouldn't normally do. She pawed the ground nervously and leaned her head forwards as if trying to sniff them from afar.

"Lily?" Sirius gasped.

Harry glared at Remus when he snorted in disbelief. "If that's Lily than break the spell and return her to normal."

He might have well said _'Lily? Yeah, right. Prove it'. _But Remus' words seemed to have snapped Sirius out of his trance. He immediately stood up, taking out his wand and pointing it at the doe, who took a few steps back.

"_Finite Incantatem!" _He roared.

Harry felt something swell in-between his neck and his chest, something so powerful it nearly erupted out of his chest. A hope so strong that it threatened to devour him as the doe was engulfed in light.

Three seconds later, he was looking at Lily Potter – his mother, the woman who birthed him – the woman whom he believed to have died protecting him.

She was naked.

Lily shrieked when she too realized this. She ducked behind a bush, but she was immediately dragged away from it by Remus who didn't seem to quite believe what he was seeing.

"Lily?" He croaked out, eyes brimming with tears.

"I told you." Sirius whispered, his voice cracking.

Harry found he couldn't speak. He couldn't breathe. It was like being in a dream. He felt as if he was suddenly living someone's else life because this couldn't possible be his own.

First, Sirius released from prison with a full pardon. Then he finds himself staring at – at...

"Mum?"

Lily, who seemed to be as shocked by the turn of events as Remus, turned to him. Almost instantly, the look of shock vanished and the most beautiful smile appeared on her equally as beautiful face.

"James?"

Harry's smile froze. _Huh?_

"No, no, no, no," Sirius stuttered and he stopped Lily from walking towards him while Remus wrapped his cloak around her. "This is Harry. Harry Potter. This is your son!"

Lily blinked at him, "Sirius?" She said uncertainly, narrowing her eyes. She paused and looked back at Remus, "Remus? What's going on – did Voldemort kidnap us?"

"No," Sirius said, looking a little alarmed. He, like Harry, probably hadn't expected Lily not to know what happened, "Voldemort attacked your house, remember? He was after Harry, but something went wrong when he tried to curse you and James. I transfigured you to protect you, but they sent me off to Azkaban for killing Peter."

"You killed Peter?"

"No, I didn't kill Peter. Well, I tried to kill him, but he managed to escape. He betrayed you!"

The rest of Sirius's disastrous attempt to bring Lily up to date were interrupted by the arrival of another deer.

A stag.

"James!"

"No, this is James." Lily said, looking at Sirius as if he were mad while pointing at Harry who was still feeling too numb to trust himself to speak.

"_Finite Incantatem!_" Sirius yelled for a second time. The stag lit up before turning into a man who was, unmistakably, his father – James Potter.

"James?" Lily said, bewildered.

"Lily?" James said, equally bewildered and also very naked, "Sirius? Remus?... and who is this? An imposter?"

Nobody moved for a moment. While Sirius had handled the return of Lily rather well, he seemed to have been struck dumb at the sight of his best friend.

"I'm..." Harry began hesitantly, "I'm your son."

He looked intently at Lily and James who were both frowning at him.

"No way, " James said. His words felt like a blow to the stomach, "My son is only a baby."

"It's true." Remus whispered. Everyone turned to him. Remus, having recovered from his shock, had silent tears rolling down his face. Harry could see dozens of emotions flashing in his brilliantly golden eyes, but the rest of his face betrayed nothing.

Lily and James stared at him open-mouthed.

Harry's heart was beating painfully in his chest when his parents turned to look at him again.

"Well, if Remus says so," Lily began uncertainly.

"Yeah," James said. His frown was replaced with a mischievous grin, "Wow, they weren't kidding when they said kids grow up fast. Look at you!"

And it suddenly became too much for Harry. For the second time within less than a week he broke down crying. He dropped his face in his hands, let himself sink to the ground and cried. And once he started, he couldn't stop. Thick, fat tears rolled down his cheeks as he tried to contain sobs that threatened to bruise his ribs, but he just couldn't stop.

He could barely make out the shocked cries, barely make out several pairs of arms wrapping themselves around him, whispering comforting words.

In that moment, Harry Potter was the happiest boy alive.

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_Authoress's Notes - A big thank you, once again, to all the people who reviewed. It means a lot to me. I was a very anxious about posting this fic. I decided to add some AU to clear up something before someone would notice and accuse me of something. This story was partially inspired by the amazing _Josephine Darcy's The Marriage Stone_. I mean absolutely no disrespect towards her and her fantastic creation. As I said, it was losely inspired by it so forgive me for anything that may seem too similar. I could only hope that this story will became as great as hers._

_Also, this story may seem fairly, well, innocent for the lack of a better word. I wanted to take things slowly. I'm not merely giving Harry things he never experienced in the actual books. Voldemort is still on the prowl, as are his Death Eaters. As such, anything he gains... he can lose._


	4. Chapter 4

Name – Destruction Where I Stand

Genre – Romance/Drama

Style – AU

Warnings – Slash, Het, Slash, Swearing

Book/Anime – Harry Potter

000

**A big thank you to the people who reviewed. I really appreciate it. Feedback and constructive critism is always welcome and I'll be more than happy to answer any questions. A special thanks to a reviewer called _Moi_ who actually gave me some inspiration and ideas. Any questions will be answered at the end of the chapter.**

**Side Note - I'm not altogether happy with how the chapter turned out, but I hope you guys like it.**

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_Chapter II – Truth Hurts_

It had taken a little over two weeks before Harry started to get used to his new lifestyle. By 'used to' it meant that he wasn't as likely to burst into tears whenever his mother or father so much as looked at him. However, neither his parents nor his godparents had been bothered by it. They had been more than happy to give him a hug or a whispered 'I love you' when it became a little too much for him. It was still strange, but in a good way.

After they informed Dumbledore, he was quick to point out that it would be best if as few people as possible knew that Lily and James survived the attack and spent a numerous years living as deer in the Forbidden Forest.

Since Sirius made no mention of having a house of any kind and the Potter Mansion had been blown to pieces, they had moved in Remus's little house and, despite the fact that they barely had enough room to turn, it was a comfy place to be as it possessed all of Remus's warmth.

It took a while to bring Lily and James up to speed, but they refrained from telling them everything. They needed some time to get used to things. While James seemed to adjust fairly easily, Lily was having trouble taking it all in and, to Harry's horror, it had seemingly caused a bit of a rift between the two. He felt slightly guilty and more than helpless, but both Sirius and James had tried to reassure him that it was alright. He wasn't so sure about that.

His mother spent a majority of her time in the bedroom while the rest of them were in the small living room. She only left the room to help with little tasks like cleaning, cooking and laundry, but even in the time she spent with them she seemed distant and too quiet for Harry's liking.

The person she seemed most open with was Remus, who was also having a bit of a hard time coming to terms with the fact that two of his best friends had been alive all along.

He was happier than he'd ever been outside of Hogwarts and yet he was worried that something would happen that would put an irrepairable crack in to what could very well be his happily ever after.

Of course, he hadn't forgotten about Voldemort. But the Dark Wizard seemed trivial compared to this. He finally had a family to call his own and he was going to try his damnedest to keep them together.

But it was more difficult than he thought.

He eventually realized that his mother wasn't the only one avoiding certain subjects. She was just the most obvious one. It soon became clear that James too wasn't ready to deal with certain things. Even Sirius and Remus tended to shy away from topics that had to be brought up sooner or later. There was a lot of tension even though the adults did their best to try and hide it from Harry.

Sirius and James seemed to have found numerous ways of distracting themselves. The two of them were glued to the hip. Harry never saw one without the other. Seeing them together gave Harry a good impression of what it was like when the two of them had been at Hogwarts together.

They were energetic, active and so full of life that Harry sometimes had the biggest, stupidest smile on his face just watching them. The problem was that the two were so close that there was barely any space left for anyone else.

Harry had played Quidditch with them several times, but often felt left out because the two had inside jokes and talked about things that happened before he'd even been born. He didn't blame them, of course. Not really. It wasn't as if he could always be the center of their attention.

Harry didn't dare go into the bedroom while his mother was there, not for fear of finding her naked (it took days before he was capable of looking his parents in the eye when he realized that they'd hugged him while in their birthday suits), but because he wouldn't know what to do if he found her crying. And he had a suspicion that that was exactly what his mother was doing while no one was looking.

That meant that the person he found himself bonding to the most was Remus.

He helped Remus with chores as best as he could though sometimes he'd be shooed away because he'd apparently done enough that day. It was easy talking to him as well. He was always patient with whatever question Harry threw at him and Remus never lied. If there was something he was still not willing to discuss he would say so and Harry respected that.

He figured Remus must've given up on lying at some point in his life because he was so horrible at it. Harry also had to admit to himself that there were some things he wasn't ready to talk about just yet.

Almost three weeks passed since Sirius's trial before Harry realized he hadn't written either of his friends since Sirius's hearing. Although they had probably already read it in the _Prophet_, he still felt guilty for not writing to them like he'd promised.

He had spend a quiet morning writting Hermione and Ron separate letters, telling them all about Sirius's trial and giving them a few hints about his parents. He couldn't tell them through a letter even though he desperately desired to tell them all about it.

He also wrote to Hagrid.

"Hagrid? Why Hagrid?" His father asked him during lunch. Harry stared at him for a while before replying. He was still surprised to see just how handsome his father was. Because people always mentioned how they looked alike, except for the eyes, he had expected James Potter to be as scrawny and geeky as he was. Maybe he wasn't as hideous as he thought himself to be.

"Well, he's the one that told me about Hogwarts and being a wizard and stuff."

James looked at him. "I don't understand. You've always known you were one, didn't you?"

"No. I was living with the Dursleys and they never told me anything. They lied to me even."

"Dursleys? You lived with Petunia?" Lily said with a frown.

"Muggles? What about Padfoot and Moony? We assigned them your godparents." James said. He was starting to look fairly angry. He glared accusingly at his friends. Harry froze, horrified when he realized he had unconsciously stumbled onto a dangerous and sensitive subject. "Why was my son brought up by Muggles?"

"I... was away." Sirius said tiredly, "They wouldn't give Harry to Remus because he's a werewolf."

"Away?" James and Lily stared silently at Sirius for a while. They're eyes narrowed suspiciously, but they decided to drop it in favor of getting more information about their son's childhood and upbringing. "And no one else wanted to take care of him? What about Frank?"

"Bellatrix got her hands on him and his wife."

"What?" James's handsome face paled, "They're dead?"

"Not dead. Insane." Remus answered calmly though his eyes were wary and his body rather tense. "Bellatrix used the Cruciatus Curse on them until they were too damaged for her to bother to kill them."

"What about-"

"Dead. Most of them are dead. The ones who survived are too damaged to take care of a child. Even Moody went a little... crazy." Remus said, his eyes cast down.

"So there was no one? No one else who'd care for our son?" James raged, holding his knife so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "What... what about Peter?"

Sirius's face darkened. Remus's eyes narrowed warningly at him. "He also... changed."

"I don't see why it's so bad?" Lily snapped suddenly, dropping her spoon back into her porridge. "I was raised by Muggles. And Petunia is my sister."

"Harry said they didn't tell him _anything_. They knew he was a wizard and they didn't say a word. They even _lied_ to him."

Harry wanted to shake his head. He wanted to lie to his mother and father because he didn't want them to feel guilty. He didn't want Sirius or Remus to feel guilty. He didn't want them to blame themselves for something they had no control over. But they would find out eventually. "They kept it from me because they.. don't like magic."

"Oh, I know they don't." James said darkly. "That became _very_ clear to me _very_ fast when I met them."

"So they kept him away from the Wizarding World." Lily argued, "That doesn't mean they _abused_ him."

It suddenly became very quiet. Harry knew all the adults were looking at him, half-expecting him to validate his mother's words. His mind was racing. Had the Dursleys abused him? All those things they had done, was that considered abuse?

"Harry." Remus began carefully, "They _didn't_ abuse you, did they?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by that." Harry replied slowly.

The adults exchanged looks.

"Have they ever hit you? Been physically aggressive?"

"Uh, Uncle Vernon has hit me a couple of times. And Dudley hit me all of the time. But it wasn't-"

Something in the air began to sizzle, interrupting the rest of his words.

"What?" James breathed, looking so murderous that Harry actually became scared. "They hurt you?"

"Harry, are you sure?" Lily asked, her eyes were impossibly wide. Sirius and Remus both froze, a look of horrified shock on their faces.

"Of course, he's bloody sure!" James exploded. "You think he'd lie about something like that?"

"Don't you dare take that tone with me!" Lily roared back, rising from her seat. "Petunia is my sister. What if they were abusing her too?"

James snorted. "I doubt it."

"Prongs." Remus said sternly. "Calm down. You're frightening your son."

"Someone has been _hurting_ my son. I won't fucking calm down! How could you let this happen?"

"Don't blame Remus!" Sirius growled, "You know as well as I do that there is nothing he could have done!"

"And where were you? You're his godfather!"

"I was in Azkaban!" Sirius roared. He quickly snapped his mouth shut when he realized what he'd just said.

James stared at him as if he'd gone mad. "Why the fuck were you in bloody Azkaban!"

Sirius looked torn, "I..."

Harry's heart beat painfully against his ribs as all four adults stood up, glaring at each other and screaming accusations. It was worse than he had feared. They weren't just blaming themselves... they were blaming each other. His family was falling apart.

"Please stop." He croaked. "Enough! _Please_ don't fight."

They stopped yelling at each other. Lily looked ready to burst into tears. Remus was visibly upset. Sirius and James were glowering at each other and neither sat down. Slowly, Lily and Remus reseated themselves.

"Sirius, sit down." Remus said gently.

Some of the tension in Sirius's body disappeared, but not all of it. He did, however, sit down though he kept his eyes on his best friend. James sat down as well, but the air around him still cackled angrily.

"Let's-" Harry swallowed thickly, "Let's talk about this, okay? Calmly. It wasn't that bad. I mean, sure, they locked me in cupboard-"

"What?!" James rose to his feet again.

So did Remus, his eyes flashing yellow. "Sit. Down. _Listen_ to him."

James froze, his eyebrows furrowed. He glanced at Harry before looking away entirely. He sat down without another word.

"Dad?" Harry whispered, the words feeling strange. It _was_ strange.

He had asked both Sirius and Remus about his parents, wondering what they were like, revelling in the stories he heard about them. He had created an image of both his mother and his father, fashioned them as perfect heroes. He had never thought that they might not be as perfect as he liked to think. His first clue had been Snape's memory in which his father, accompanied by the rest of the Marauders, bullied his Potions professor mercilessly.

Sirius had comforted him, as had Remus, telling him that they were young and made mistakes like everyone else. But it bothered him.

During the last week or so, he noticed things about his father and mother that just didn't seem right. They fought a lot. Lily could be overbearing, demanding – she hated being wrong and being told she was wrong, she accused her husband of being too distant but snapped at him when he came too close, she pointed fingers at them for leaving her behind when she locked herself up in a room and wouldn't come out no matter how much they coaxed her.

James was, for the lack of a better word, childish in many ways. He procrastinated like no other, he was reckless and tended to shrug things off when something went wrong like it wasn't his fault. He had a temper that reminded Harry a bit of Dudley when things didn't go his way. He could be insensitive and vulgar. Like a spoiled brat.

But he loved him. Dear Merlin, he loved them so much. They were his parents and, despite all their faults and their flaws, he knew they loved him and each other to death.

"Harry," Lily began with a frown, swinging her brilliant red hair back distractedly, "Is Petunia alright? Is... is she being abused as well?"

"No. She...uh," Harry paused. Should he tell her? Tell her that her only sister had not only been a part of the horrible treatment he had to endure, but had even told him that his parents had deserved to die and called her a freak on top of it? No, he couldn't. "She's fine."

Lily's eyes, as magnificently green as his own, narrowed suspiciously, "Don't lie to me, Harry. Don't keep things from me. If she's fine than why didn't she stop them from hurting you?"

Harry blinked back tears of frustration. "She didn't stop them from... hurting me. She-" Harry clenched his fists. "She encouraged it. I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Lily replied immediately. Her initial response to the confession vanished and was replaced by a look of disbelief, sadness and a love so strong that Harry felt his insides burn. "Oh, Harry. No. No, no, no. It's not your fault."

"But it hurts, doesn't it?" Harry rasped. He was fully aware of the fact that the men, including his father, were staring intensely at him. "That your sister, that she... I don't want... She's your sister."

"And you're my son." Lily frowned at him before reaching across the table to grab his hand. "You mean more to me than anything in the world. Yes, Petunia is my sister and knowing that she hurt you and allowed others to hurt you is painful. But you are _my son_."

James reached over to grab Harry's other hand. "And they will pay _dearly_ for what they've done."

Lily's face fell at hearing her husband's words. She bit her lip, but nodded tightly. "Yes." Her expression darkened, "Petunia has some explaining to do."

James glanced at her, a small smile tugging at his lips.

Harry looked at his parents and wondered why his heart hadn't calmed down. It was still beating rather painfully in his chest. "I... I'm sorry."

James blinked, taken aback. "What? Whatever for?"

"I..." Harry exhaled and inhaled deeply. "I... we've been..." _We've been drifting apart. I don't want to pretend that everything's fine anymore. I don't want to lose my family. _

He couldn't bring himself to say it and glanced at Sirius. His godfather winced and looked away. Harry swallowed thickly, turning his pleading stare to Remus instead. The werewolf sighed and calmly asked James and Lily to sit down. They complied, exchanging concerned looks.

"Harry has spent a majority of his life thinking he was an orphan, that his parents had been brutally murdered by a dark wizard. He's faced many trials and tribulations while attempting to make sense of the chaos in his life, trying to live a _normal_ life even though no one's ever taught him what a normal wizard's life is like." Remus took a deep breath. "I can't even begin to imagine what it must've been like for Harry to... to see the two of you for the first time. With the way he reacted to Sirius, to having a godfather, I have come to understand that he is almost desperate for love."

Harry flinched, but didn't correct it. It was true after all. He stared hard at his plate, unable to look his parents in the eye.

"For the past three weeks or so, after finally regaining what should've been there all along, he bears witness while your marriage is falling apart." He heard Remus continue with a strangled voice. "It's probably difficult for Harry to say this himself because he doesn't want to sound ungrateful. But you can't fix something if you ignore it. I think it's about time we stop wallowing in self-pity and focus on what is important. We are all responsible for Harry and he won't be happy unless we're happy as well."

For a moment, all Harry could hear was the ticking of the magical clock above the tiny fireplace. He actually physically recoiled when he heard his mother bursting into tears. The sound seemed to shatter everyone's defenses, including his own. He looked up just in time to see his father wrapping his arms around Lily and pulling her into a loving embrace. His hazel eyes were suspiciously bright.

Sirius was still frowning, trying very hard not to cry as well. He was half-heartedly poking his cold pudding and occasionally glanced at Remus who was sighing deeply. They were exchanging meaningful looks.

"A-about Azkaban..." Sirius began quietly. His hand was shaking slightly, "I... have failed you, Prongs. You and Lily and Harry. Remus as well. I... tried to kill Peter."

James and Lily looked shocked, but they remained silent. Whether it was due to the sheer surprise of Sirius's confession or the fact that they wanted to hear the rest of the story, Harry didn't know.

He closed his eyes tightly. It was okay. His family was still there. And they had begun the journey to recovery. Everything was still alright. They would understand.

"Peter... betrayed you. He was in league with Voldemort. I tried to... I'm so sorry." He dropped his face in his hands. "I'm _so_ sorry."

Silence.

Harry thought he might die of sheer anxiety. He could barely breath. It was alright, he told himself forcibly. They were going to understand. It would be alright. He told himself this repeatedly but his heart refused to calm down. It beat so loudly that he didn't even realize Lily had gotten from her seat until he looked up.

She was holding her husband's hand and kissed him. "I love you." She said firmly. Then she walked over to Remus, grabbed his hand and kissed his cheek. "I love you." She moved to Harry, placed her hand on top of his and kissed his forehead. "I love you." She whispered with a small, but beautiful smile. She walked towards Sirius, put her hands on either side of his face and forced him to look at her before kissing his cheek as well. "I love you."

"I love you too." Harry whispered. "All of you. More than I can say."

It was okay, he told himself. He smiled. It was going to be alright. This time, his heart believed it.

000

It had been an emotional day. Everyone had been a bit overwhelmed. They went to bed early. When Harry woke up and went to the living room, he found his father figures sitting at the table, talking quietly. He smiled at them.

"Where's mum and Remus?"

"Buying groceries." James answered, flashing him a similar smile. "Lily thought we all deserved an amazing meal after all the drama yesterday. She also said something about male bonding."

"Guess that's why we weren't allowed to come." Sirius added.

"Is it safe though? Isn't she supposed to stay hidden?"

"Don't worry. They're going to Muggle shops. And they've got the Invisibility Cloak just in case."

"Why did Remus go if this is supposed to be male bonding time?" Harry asked as he sat back down though kept his eyes on the bedroom door.

Sirius and his father exchanged looks, "Well..." James began. "Moony is the _eromenos_."

Harry raised an eyebrow and looked at his godfather.

Sirius shrugged, "It's a girl thing, Harry."

Girl... thing?

"Remus is a girl?" Harry said, confused.

"Close enough." Sirius said cheerfully.

His father glared at Sirius with a small grin, "I'll tell Moony you said that. Harry, Moony is the _eromenos_ or _pullus_. You know, the receptive one of the relationship?"

Harry stared at him. "Receptive? Pull what?"

"_Pullus_ is a Roman word – a term for a young animal, mostly a chick – you know, a young bird? It was also used to refer to a young lover, but today it's slang for the 'girl' in a homosexual relationship. We usually call them _eromenos_. It's more polite." His father explained before wolfing down the rest of his breakfast.

"It's like this," Sirius said after a while when he spotted the look on Harry's face, "A homosexual relationship must exist out of an _erastes _and an _eromenos_."

"Never mind that," James interrupted Sirius before he could continue, "Harry, unlike heterosexual unions which are rarely considered illegal or dishonorable, homosexual unions have all kinds of laws and rules and customs to follow and obey in order to be legal and honorable in the Wizarding World."

Harry frowned, "Like what?"

"Well, like Padfoot said, a homosexual union must exist out of an _erastes_ and an _eromenos_. The _erastes_ takes the dominant, masculine role of the relationship while an _eromenos_ is the submissive, feminine one."

"And by 'dominant and masculine' you mean?"

James gave him an amused look before jerking his thumb towards his best friend. He blunty said, "Padfoot here is the one who penetrates."

Harry blushed. He refused to look anywhere near his godfather, "Why?" He blurted out in his embarassment.

"Why?" James frowned, "You mean why isn't Moony the _erastes_? Or are you asking why a same-sex relationship needs an _erastes _and _eromenos_?"

"Both."

"It has something to do with magic, raw magic to be more precise." Sirius answered, "Raw magic flows in and out of the body in a circle. When two people have sex their magic interwines and becomes one big circle and begins rotating in a certain direction, depending on who's penetrating. "

Harry coughed. His face felt hot and his father's cheeky look didn't help. But he was too curious to let it go. "I don't understand."

"Raw magic can only rotate in one direction. It's dangerous to suddenly make it stop and turn the other way. And that's what happens when an _eromoeos_ penetrates the _erastes_. The circle begins to rotate in the opposite direction."

"And what happens if it does?"

"Anything can happen, Harry. None of them good." Sirius said, "Raw magic is very volatile."

"As for why Moony is the _eromenos_," James shrugged, "because he's a werewolf. His social status is much, much lower than Padfoot's according to the Law."

Sirius nodded slowly, "Especially now that I'm a free man. I'm the head of the Black family, Harry."

"So the positions in the relationship depends on social status?"

"Among other things. Actually, the Law doesn't decide who gets to be _erastes_, it just says that a gay union needs one." Sirius said. Harry glanced at him only to immediately look away. He still couldn't look at him straight. "But they have figured out a way to control it without making a law about it. Social pressure is what usually decides who gets to be who."

"Social pressure?" Harry was beginning to feel a little stupid.

"Sexism, son." James said, "It has everything to do with sexism. The female position is viewed as weak, undesirable and humiliating because women are seen as the weaker sex. Which isn't true in the slightest." He added hurriedly.

"So it's humiliating to be the _eromone-_thing?"

"_Eromenos_." Sirius corrected, "It depends. As Prongs said, it's all to do with sexism. That's why people expect the _eromenos_ to be the 'weaker' one of the two."

"But Remus is stronger than you." Harry said, remembering how Remus stopped Sirius from dashing after the deer herd with one hand.

James shook his head. "Only physically. That's the only thing Moony has over Padfoot. Padfoot is taller, heavier and older. His magic is stronger and more potent. His social standing is much higher, he's richer – want me to go on?"

"So why isn't it humiliating for Remus to be the _erodono_?"

"_Eromenos_." James corrected with a smirk, "Because everyone expects him to be, Harry. People will start talking if Padfoot was the _eromenos_."

"So what?"

"You have to understand, Harry, that no man would willingly become an _eromenos_ if they can help it because no man wants to be seen as weak. So when Padfoot, who is considered to be the 'stronger' and more 'dominant' one compared to Moony, is the _eromenos_ people are going to think that there's something illegal or bad going on." James explained, "They're going to think that Moony forced him to bond with him against his will. They'll accuse him of rape and other horrible things. And, let me tell you, if enough people start to believe it it's only a matter of time before Moony would get arrested."

"That's ridiculous!" Harry exclaimed, "Can't you just _say_ that you're one and than just do whatever you want?"

"Do you think there would be such drama around the whole business if it were that easy?" Sirius said.

James frowned at Harry, "Has no one ever told you about safety spells?"

"Safety... spells?"

James glared at Sirius, who put up his hands in surrender, "I was in Azkaban!"

"Well, the richer families can buy safety spells from the Ministry. They can vary from wards that protect them from burglars and intruders to spells that will immediately alert the parents if their child is kidnapped. Not so wealthy families have to make their own safety spells." James explained, "They're not nearly as powerful and some are illegal without being approved by the Ministry first."

"Like spells that cause buildings to appear invisible and undetectable to Muggles?"

"Exactly."

"So what does that have to do with the _eromenos_ business?"

"Because every pureblood family in the Wizarding World has put a charm on their child, male or female, called the _Protego Virtus_. It's a spell that puts up an alert, warning nearby witches and wizard, calling the parents and sending message to the Ministry if something is threatening their child's virtue." Sirius said with a dark frown. "The spell was designed to protect children against sexual predators, but no one uses it for just that anymore. The thing with _Protego Virtus_ is that it depends greatly on what the caster believes to be a threat to their child's virtue."

James nodded distractedly, "That means if I thought that feeding you sprouts is a threat to your virtue, whether it is or not, so will the spell. And it will send an alert to anyone with the desire, duty and power to protect you if it so much as senses somebody trying to offer you a sprout."

"In other words, it's the perfect spell to warn people on whether or not their son is the _erastes _or_ eromenos_ since no parent really wants their child to be the _eromonos_ because that's like saying that they and their son aren't as great as the other bloke and his family." Sirius said, taking a sip of butterbeer.

Harry blinked in surprise. "Heh." He said, very intrigued, "So everyone from a pureblood family has this spell on them?"

"Yep. Even you."

Harry blinked. "I do?"

James nodded. "Until you are of age you will be under the protection of the _Protego Virtus_ spell. And maybe even after that."

Sirius smirked and waved his spoon at Harry, "So if you've been doing naughty things with some girl – or guy," He added in afterthought, "your dear mum and dad will know immediately. And so will Remus and I."

Harry paled.

James scowled and slapped Sirius over the head. "Don't lie to my son, you bastard!" He gave Harry a reassuring look, "Don't worry. As long as it's legal and willing on both accounts we won't know."

"So it works both ways? The spell will also work if I'm the, you know – the bad guy?"

"I don't know. I think so. I mean, most parents would probably like to know if their kid did something bad, but they have a more specific spell for that. But in some cases," James's face darkened, "well, some parents don't care when it's their child doing the damage."

"But the spell only works when the threat is of a sexual nature." Sirius elaborated as if he had read Harry's mind. "It's primarily used these days as a way to keep your child's sexual affairs in check. You can imagine, Harry, that there are families out there who want to know whether or not the person their kid is sleeping with is pureblood or not."

Harry nodded. He could think of a few. He honestly doubted Lucius Malfoy would allow his son to sleep with a Muggleborn.

"But what if it's just a case of your kid sleeping with someone you don't deem worthy. Is the spell still going to send an alert to the Ministry? Kind of embarassing, isn't it?"

"The amount of people alerted depends on how heavy the threat. In the more innocent cases, for the lack of a better word, the parents are usually the only ones informed."

Harry fount this very interesting. "Why don't they teach this stuff at school?"

James gave him a bemused look, "Don't they?"

Harry groaned and shook his head. "There is so much about the Wizarding World I don't know about. I'll probably always feel like an outsider."

"Nonsense!" James exclaimed, "Now that you have us, we'll fill you in on everything you need and want to know."

Harry had a lot to think about. He had a million questions to ask, but a part of him was to ashamed to actually say it out loud. He didn't want his father to think he was stupid. "So what spell is used to, you know, alert parents if their child has done something bad?"

"Dozens of different spells, but they're all very specific. Some act as lying detectors while others will go off whenever they say a bad word. You also have the more severe ones that gives them a shock when they do something after you told them not to."

Sirius huffed. "They're cute! There are some really horrible ones out there. There's this spell that allows a parent to see everything their child does or even thinks."

Harry's eyes widened. "Isn't there some privacy law against that?"

"Well, those kinds of spells have to be approved by the ministry, Harry." James said, "You need a good reason to put them on your child."

"And only the department of Child Safety is allowed to perform those spells on children. These are spells that are usually placed on adults suspected of doing some illegal." Sirius added.

"Like Death Eaters?" Harry muttered, trying to sound casual.

"People suspected of being Death Eaters." Sirius corrected, "It's a complicated thing, Harry. The Ministry needs evidence to suggest that there is something illegal going on and by the time they have enough proof they might as well just give them a trial and chuck them into Azkaban."

"Not always," said James, "Sometimes they pretend to set them free. They put all kinds of spells on them in the hopes that they'll lead them to more Death Eaters."

Harry frowned, "Isn't that a bit risky?"

James nodded, giving Harry an approving look, "Very risky." He turned to Sirius, "You know how it was back then, Padfoot – couldn't trust anyone. Ministry was full of Voldemort's spies and plently of them knew how to do and undo various safety spells."

Sirius nodded as he lounged back in his seat in a rather haughty way, "Yep, in those days the spells that were meant to keep us safe were being used to harm us. I remember duelling this idiot at the Ministry who thought he could put a detection spell on me without me noticing."

Harry frowned. Deep down he knew they didn't deliberately cut him out of the conversation, but it was still annoying. He finished his toast silently, trying to block them out. He was jealous and he sort of hated himself for it. It was childish.

He went outside after he finished, not quite knowing what to do. Therefore he was grateful to see Hedwig and Errol flying towards him. But when he opened the letter it was disappointing. Neither of them mentioned Sirius nor gave any inclination that they had understood the numerous hints he left in their letters. Maybe they were upset with him because he'd forgotten? And Hagrid's letter hadn't made sense at all.

But there was a fourth letter that made him stop in his tracks.

_Dear Harry,_

_As promised I have spend the last weeks attempting to find a solution to the complicated situation you are now in. I am sorry to say that it's still too early and too dangerous to set James and Lily into the world. However, it would also be unwise to remain in Remus Lupin's house. The Ministry of Magic have decided to trail Sirius since many, including Minister Fudge, are not yet willing to accept his innocence. So far I have been able to keep them at bay, but it won't be long before they find out. _

_That's why, until I have sorted this all out, it would be best for you and your extended family to stay somewhere else for the time being._

_I am aware that you would like to live at The Burrow, but unfortunately they too are being watched as many know of your friendship with Ronald Weasley. Miss Granger's home is therefore also out of the question._

_In fact, the best place for you all is Spinner's End, the home of Severus Snape. I implore you and your family to move there as soon as possible. Severus already knows of this arrangement._

_Sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Harry gaped at the letter. _Snape's _house? Had Dumbledore completely lost his mind? Did he honestly think it was a good idea to put Sirius, his father and Snape in the same _building_? He swallowed thickly – dear Merlin, and he had to tell them.

Harry slumped against a tree, feeling quite sorry for himself. _It's for my mum and dad_, he thought to himself in an attempt to gather some courage to go back and tell them, _and for Sirius and Remus_.

He took a deep breath and marched back to the house, determined to get it over with fast. Five minutes later, two loud roars of anger sent the three Hippogriff residing in the trees into the air in their panic to escape whatever dreadful monsters had been unleashed.

"_Snivellus?!_"

_**End Chapter **_

000

_Did the Potters reproduce through the years the lived as deer? If so, how did that affect their offspring?_

Hmm, that's a very good question. It actually gave me an idea, but I'm not sure if I should go through with it. I would guess that since they were biologically deer at the time that any child they would have during that period would also have been deer physically. The mental and magical side-effects would, I guess, also depend on whether they actually had the children with each other. Though, on the other hand, I suppose the Potters would probably have enough sense in their transfigured form to know that they loved each other and remained together. Moving on, the mental side-effects would probably be that the offspring would be a lot more intelligent than the average deer, not entirely sentient, but something along the lines of a really smart dog maybe. The magical side-effects are tricky. The Potters hadn't lost their magical abilities when they were transfigured, but lost their ability to use them (or else they could have turned themselves back). I think the same would apply to their offspring. Any magical ability they would inherit would lay dormant as they do not know how to use it.

_How did living thirteen years as deer affect the Potters?_

Well, I would think spending a long period of time trapped in the body and mind of an animal, no matter which kind, would enlongate the recovery process. As in, it probably took the Potters much longer to regain all of their regular human behavior and thought process. It was one of the reasons as to why they didn't immediately inform the Potters of everything in the beginning, giving them some time to readjust. I don't think there would've been any permanent damage though.

_Are the Potters the perfect parents/family/couple?_

No. Not in the long shot. James isn't perfect and neither is Lily. They have issues just like every other couple.

_What will happen if Snape joins the drama? How will Snape react to the Potters and vice versa?_

... yes, how indeed... muahaha

_What happened to The Prophecy? Is there even a prophecy?_

Harry has just finished his Fourth Year. I don't know if I'm going to go with the original prophecy, but we'll see.

_Where was Harry when the Aurors picked him up? Hogwarts or Dursleys?_

He was still at Hogwarts though it was the beginning of summer holidays so he was about to board the Hogwarts Express.


	5. Chapter 5

Name – Destruction Where I Stand

Genre – Romance/Drama

Style – AU

Warnings – Slash, Het, Slash, Swearing

Book/Anime – Harry Potter

000

**A big thank you to the people who reviewed. I really appreciate it. Feedback and constructive critism is always welcome and I'll be more than happy to answer any questions. A special thanks to a reviewer called _Moi_ who actually gave me some inspiration and ideas. Any questions will be answered at the end of the chapter.**

**Side Note - Sorry for the long wait. I've been having it rather rough recently.**

000

_Chapter III - Maybe _

Harry winced and shakily raised a glass of butterbeer to his lips as his family raged war against each other.

"Dumbledore said it was the safest place for us!" Lily screamed, glaring at her husband.

"Safest place?" James spluttered, "If you put us in the same space as Snivellus one of us is going to be murdered by the end of the week."

"His name is Severus Snape."

"A Death Eater!" James roared.

"A Slytherin!" Sirius added ferociously, glowering at Lily and Remus.

"You're exaggerating," Remus said, rubbing his temples as his lover and friend reached an impressive volume to protest his statement.

"See!" Lily said, looking at Sirius, "Remus agrees with me. We should just do it. While we're there you can all sort out whatever problems and grudges there are still between you and-"

"Impossible." James interrupted, shaking his head. "Even Harry hates him."

"Harry doesn't hate Snape." Lily said outraged. Harry almost choked on his butterbeer when they all turned to him, "Do you, Harry?"

"Well," Harry stuttered. He didn't hate Snape, but he wasn't exactly fond of the idea that they would be living together either. "I don't particularly like him."

"Of course you don't." Sirius said immediately, looking pleased, "No one likes Snivellus."

Lily rounded on him. "I like him!"

"He called you a Mudblood!"

"Sirius!" Remus folded his hands, glaring.

"He did call her that!" Sirius insisted, "You heard him that day too, love. Remember?"

"I also remember you and James bullying him quite mercilessly," Remus said calmly.

Sirius's face fell. He exchanged angry looks with James. "Why do you two keep defending that slimy git!"

"Dumbledore trusts him."

"So what?!"

"He made the wolfsbane potion while I was teaching at Hogwarts and he sent me a batch as an apology for revealing my lycanthropy to the students."

"No, he didn't!" Sirius spat. "You _know_ he doesn't regret doing that."

"_Enough!_" Lily hollered with a force that shook the whole house, "We're going and that's _final!_"

Shocked silence followed before James meekly mumbled, "Yes, dear."

Remus glared at Sirius who quickly said, "Yes, love", sounding dejected.

Harry smirked despite the fact that the side he had secretly been rooting for had lost. Females the weaker sex? _Puh_-lease.

"So when do we leave?" Sirius asked. His arms were crossed and he was staring angrily at the floor.

"In two days." Remus replied, calmly sipping his tea. Both he and Lily looked mighty pleased with themselves. "That reminds me, we should probably do some shopping before then."

000

"We won't take long." Remus assured Lily and James as the two sulked in front of the doorstep.

"It's not fair." James muttered, "You two are taking _our_ son to Diagon Alley while Lily and I have to pack."

"It's not their fault." Lily said.

"Still not fair." James whined which earned him an unamused glare from his wife.

"I'll buy you a broom." Sirius said with a smirk, "How about that? A Firebolt or something. I'll get one too. Then the three of us can play Quidditch and leave them two with Snivellus."

Remus and Lily glared at him while James and Harry laughed.

"You should save your money for something worthwhile." Lily said.

Sirius, James and Harry all gasped dramatically, "Are you trying to say that Quidditch – _Quidditch! _– is not worthwhile?"

"Yes." Remus deadpanned, "Now, let's go before the shops close."

"It's only morning, love. They're just opening." Sirius pointed out.

"If we let you three talk about Quidditch freely it'll be Christmas by the time we leave."

James gave him a playfully indignant glare, "."

"Bye." Harry said, giving his parents a wave. He flushed when Lily came over to kiss him on the forehead.

"Be safe."

"Yes, mum." Harry smiled.

"You get your father a good broom now." James said, ruffling Harry's hair.

"Yes, dad."

Harry grabbed onto Sirius who winked at him before they Disapparated.

"I don't like Apparition." Harry gasped a moment later.

They had arrived in Diagon Alley in one piece, but while Remus and Sirius looked fine, Harry felt particularly winded by the experience.

"It's not so uncomfortable when you're the one in charge. Side-Along Apparation is ten times worse." Sirius said, giving him a sympathetic look.

"Got your list, Harry?" Remus said as he soothingly rubbed Harry's arm.

"Yeah." Harry took out his lists, "I need some new books. Also I need to stock up on potion ingredients."

"Let's get you some new robes as well." Remus said, "You're outgrowing your old ones."

"_You_ also need some new robes, love." Sirius said, waving a finger at Remus.

"So do you." Harry shot back with a smirk.

"True. We also need two new brooms, two new wands, some owls-" Remus listed.

"A shopping spree it is!" Sirius interrupted, getting impatient. He sighed, "Let's get to Gringotts. The sooner we leave that place the better."

"Right you are."

The three of ignored the looks and whispers though Sirius had glared at a group of particularly rude witches that had pointed unpolitely and deliberately talked loud enough for them to hear. Harry, who was used to being stared at and talked about in a good way but mostly a bad way, blocked the whisperers out with ease.

Harry's view on goblins hadn't improved in the slightest. He was happy to leave Gringotts after Sirius withdrew a large pile of money from his vault and his parents' second vault.

"I didn't know my parents had a second vault."

"Most families do, Harry. They have one vault for their children, if they have any, and a second fault for themselves. You would've gotten access to the second vault as soon as you turned seventeen." Sirius explained, "Now let's get those Firebolts."

But brooms weren't they only thing they bought at _Quality Quidditch Supplies_ which was, quite frankly, one of the best shops in Diagon Alley in Harry's opinion. True to his word, Sirius had bought James and himself a firebolt. He also bought a basic Quidditch case containing a Quaffle, two Bludgers and a Snitch, and a set of Portable Quidditch Hoops which shrunk and grew with the push a button.

The only thing in the shop that Remus was interested in were the books. He had bought Harry a book called _The Best of The Best: Quidditch At It's Finest_ that, as the title suggested, described everything from the best players to the best moves.

"Owls." Remus breathed, looking glad to be out of the shop. He led them to _Eeylops Owl Emporium_ where they bought four owls and a supply of owl food. They also bought a massive cage, large enough to fit Hedwig, the four new owls and two or three guest owls, that would be delivered to Remus's house.

"Wands next." Sirius said, rubbing his hands together enthusiastically. He probably couldn't wait for his best friend to get a wand so they could make some mischief again.

But the trip to _Ollivanders Wand Shop_ was a bit unpleasant. Ollivander wasn't about to sell them a single wand unless the people they were purchasing the wands for were present to try them out.

"The wand chooses the wizard." He kept saying, glaring at Sirius who was getting agitated.

"So you've said." Sirius hissed.

"C'mon," Harry said, tugging at his godfather's robe. "I'm sure we can figure something out." Once they left, he said, "Maybe we can give them some Polyjuice Potion."

"That's a great idea!" Remus said, "Severus can brew it for us."

Mentioning Snape seemed to put Sirius into an even darker mood which their next destination, _Slug & Jiggers Apothecary_, didn't help and Remus refused to go into _Gambol And Japes_ even when Harry said he wanted to go.

"No!" He persisted, glaring at the two of them, "Because I _know_ you're going to use them on Snape."

"No, we're not." Sirius and Harry lied.

"Books." Remus snapped, choosing to ignore them and left for _Flourish & Blotts_.

They had spent nearly an eternity in the book shop before Remus was ready to leave, clutching more books than most of the young witches and wizards that were starting first year at Hogwarts ("Some are for Lily!"). Harry had bought a few books that weren't on the list to his own surprise. He had momentarily wondered what his friends, especially Ron, would say if they'd been there.

He had bought the books to get a better understanding of the Wizarding World. Remus and Sirius had helped him pick out most of them and found himself actually excited to read them, especially one entitled _International Magic_ which was the thickest and largest of the lot and explained the many cultures of the Wizarding World.

They took a short break at _Florean's_ where Sirius bought Harry a huge sundea which he ate while skimming through some of his new books.

"Brooms check, books check, ingredients check..."

"I need some more ink and parchment." Harry said. At first he had felt a bit overwhelmed. He didn't want Sirius or Remus to think they had to spoil him and had tried to contain his excitement when they entered _Quality Quidditch Supplies_ but they had both been quick to reprimand him about it. Sirius had been especially passionate, ("I'll spoil you whether you want it or not!").

"We also need to go to _Madame Malkins_." Sirius mumbled, stealing a spoonful of Harry's sundea who didn't mind in the slightest.

"Harry!"

Harry jumped and turned around to see his two best friends running at him, waving wildly. He smiled at them before enveloping each in a tight hug. "I thought you were angry with me!"

"Angry?" Ron said, "Why would we be angry with you?"

"Because I didn't write after Sirius's trial like I said I would."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Oh please, like we'd get upset over something like that. We already figured that you were too busy getting used to each other and being a big happy family to write us back so soon." Something about the way she said that told Harry that she had indeed gotten the hint. She glanced around to see if anyone was listening into their conversation and squeezed his hands, "I'm so happy for you, Harry. Can't say too much or I might cry and get everyone's attention."

"Yeah, what she said." muttered Ron. He too was glancing around nervously. Then the two smiled at Sirius, "Congratulations by the way."

"We bought you a gift." Hermione added excitedly. She presented Sirius with a large wrapped box. Whatever it was, it was trying very hard to get out. "I had to put a silencing charm on it because it was attracting too much attention."

Sirius stared uncertainly at the box when he accepted it. "Thanks." He said.

"C'mon, open it." Harry laughed at his godfather's expression.

They all watched as Sirius tentatively removed the wrapping, carefully opened the lid – and was immediately assaulted by what looked like a miniature lion. "What the-!"

Remus laughed as he gently lifted the orange Pomeranian off of Sirius's face. "It's a dog, Sirius. Honestly."

It was the cutest dog Harry had ever seen. Its fur reminded him of Crookshanks. Hermione removed the silencing charm and stared expectantly at Sirius who seemed flabbergasted.

"Ron bought the leash." She said uncertainly.

Sirius looked at the two and awarded them with a dazzling smile, "She's brilliant, thank you."

"Your welcome." Ron said, looking relieved. Hermione had been stunned into silence and Harry had a suspicion she too had just noticed how beautiful Sirius was.

Feeling a little awkward and hoping his best female friend wasn't going to develop a crush for his godfather (he had known for a fact that she had had a crush on Remus when he was their teacher), Harry turned his attention to the dog. "What are you going to name her?"

"Memory." Sirius said simply, patting the dog affectionately.

"Are those _owls_?" Ron said tactlessly as he and Hermione sat down at their table, "What do you need four owls for?"

"Well, you know – have you guys already gotten all of your school stuff?" Harry said, changing the subject as Hermione wacked him over the head. Ron glared at her before figuring it out.

Harry quickly continued the conversation before Ron said something else in his obliviousness. "Not everything. We already got our books and ingredients."

"Great, you can go to _Scribullus Writing Instruments_ with us." Sirius said, looking remarkably cheerful. Meanwhile Remus was trying to wrestle the overexcited Memory onto a leash. It barked nonstop and kept trying to jump onto the table, its eyes fixed on Harry's sundae. Sirius gave the dog a fond look.

"Where are your parents?" Remus asked Ron after successfully getting the leash on.

"They're still at _Flourish & Blotts_ looking at books."

"Speaking of books – Harry!" Hermione had spotted some the books Harry had gotten, "Is that _The Laws of The Wizarding World_? Oh! And _International Magic_? I've always wanted to read that book, but it's so expensive. Would you lend it to me after you've finished?"

"Sure." Harry said, laughing at Ron's expression.

They left _Scribullus_ after ten minutes though it would have been sooner if it wasn't for Hermione who spend the better of five minutes trying to decide on whether to buy an extra ink pot.

"You're sure you want to go to _Madame Malkin's_?" Sirius said. Memory barked loudly as if backing her owner up. "_Twilfitt & Tattings_ is just a little further."

"As beautiful as their robes are," Remus said before Harry could respond, "I don't particularly like their clientele."

"People like Malfoy go to _Twilfitt & Tattings_, Harry. Wealthy, pureblood people." Ron explained.

"Oh." Harry said, who had immediately thought of Death Eaters.

"So?" Sirius said sulkily, "I want to buy nice robes. I want to buy you and Remus nice robes. I'm not going to let a bunch of snobs prevent me from getting nice things."

"Alright, but if I say we're leaving than we _will_ leave." Remus said.

It couldn't have been obvious that _Twilfitt & Tattings_ was an upperclass shop. Harry gaped at the marble floors, the high ceiling with several diamond chandeliers, glass mannequins and shelves upon shelves of robes.

Hermione had stopped dead in front of a glass cabinet displaying some of the most beautiful jewelry he had ever seen.

"How may I help you?" A sharply-dressed wizard appeared before them.

"We're looking for robes." Sirius said, who was the only one that wasn't staring hungrily at something on display.

"For a specific occasion or daily wear?"

"Both."

They spent two hours in _Twilfitt & Tattings_. Harry was the first to go. He had been measured and fitted and had rolls upon rolls of different fabrics held against them while the others muttered their opinion. He had felt rather self-conscience throughout the whole experience. They had bought so many clothes and accessories that they couldn't carry it all, even with Ron and Hermione's help, so Sirius had asked them to ship it to Remus's house.

Harry was rather glad to leave. He was getting tired of carrying all the bags.

"Who knew Sirius was such a diva?" Ron said as they waited in front of the shop. Sirius was trying to convince Remus, one last time, to buy the diamond earrings.

"I don't _have_ ear piercings!"

"I'll pierce them for you."

"Don't even think about it!"

Harry laughed. "Yeah, who knew."

Fifteen minutes later, they said goodbye to Ron and Hermione ("See you on the first of September, Harry!") and Disapparated.

000

"We've packed almost everything while you were gone, but we weren't sure about some of the things so we waited until you came back." Lily said as James went crazy at the sight of his Firebolt.

"Did you tell your friends that we're moving?" James said, trying to sound casual.

Harry blinked at him, "Yeah, Hermione figured it out just like I thought she would. She probably told Ron too. We couldn't really talk about it though. A lot of people were staring and I swear this one bloke was following us everywhere."

"So you noticed it too?" Sirius said, looking up from his plate, "Heh, and I thought I was being paranoid."

"He stopped after we left _Flourish & Blotts_ though," Harry continued, "Wonder why?"

"Yeah, I wonder." Remus mumbled suspiciously.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"I might... have encouraged him a bit to... you know... leave us alone."

"And by 'encourage' you mean?" James inquired with a knowing smirk.

"I dropped the heaviest book I could find on his foot." Remus deadpanned.

"Ouch." Harry flinched. "That book was almost as big as me and three times as wide!"

"Yes, well..."

"You did that on _purpose_?" Sirius let out a bark-like laughter that caused Memory to go into another fit of excitement, "I should've known! And I saw more than his foot disappear under there."

"Well, I was aiming for his foot." There was an amused silence. "Alright, maybe not!"

"After all these years," Lily said with a laugh, "you still don't know how to tell a decent lie."

Remus grumbled.

"We love you for it, babe." Sirius said, kissing Remus's temple.

"Hey!" Lily scolded playfully, "No snogging at the table."

Harry was overjoyed to see his mother smiling. She hadn't done so a lot. He wondered momentarily why his parents were in such a good mood before blushing brilliantly, remembering how flustered they had both looked when James opened the door.

"What's with the dog anyway?" James frowned at the pomeranian, unsure what to make of it.

"Present from Harry's friends. She's my new best friend." Sirius teased, sticking his tongue out.

"Wonder what it will do if you turn into Padfoot?" James said with a wink. "Maybe she'll fall in love and start humping you nonstop."

Sirius glared.

When Harry was shooed away after offering to help with the dishes, he decided to read one of the books he'd bought. He started with _International Magic_. He'd read the chapters about Britain, give it to Hermione and then read the rest when she had finished it. But that proved impossible.

The book was fascinating. It made Harry understand just what kind of world he had been a part of for four years and just how different it was from the Muggle world.

Harry spent the rest of the day, sitting comfortably on a bench outside, reading about the cultures of witches and wizard from all over the world. As fascinating as the book was it was clearly written for readers who were already somewhat familiar with the Wizarding World. There were many times when Harry didn't know what the book meant. He had barely managed to decipher the chapter called _Blood Obsession_.

It had fueled both his curiosity and his anger. He knew that purebloods, especially the rich ones, could get away with a lot of things. The Malfoys were a perfect example. Loopholes in the justice system had allowed purebloods to get away with theft, kidnapping, torture, rape and murder.

Another thing that had Harry fuming was the ministry's obvious desire to put everyone in a box with numerous labels which made them easier to control. The _erastes/eromenos_ business was a perfect example. In fact, marriage of any kind, same-sex or not, was more than an act of love, if it was even that. It was a weapon used both offensively and defensively. Got a disobedient son who's been eyeballing some poor no-good witch, or worse, a muggleborn? Sell him off to some wealthy pureblood bastard. He'll keep him in line. You're rid of the brat, can spare your name and get a nice little alliance out of it too if you're lucky. You can even get a bride price out of the deal. Plus, a divorce is near impossible as the brat will never be able to afford it. _Erastes _and _eromenos_? More like _creep_ and _sex slave_.

It made Harry sick. He hated the fact that Sirius and Remus had been forced to agree to these terms to legalize their union. He nearly threw the book out the window in his frustration.

The next morning he'd been forced to put _International Magic_ aside and help pack the rest of the stuff. The owl cage as well as all the clothes they'd bought had arrived during midday. Harry noticed that Sirius and James were deliberately taking their time.

"You alright, son?" His father asked when Sirius had gone out to take care of the Hippogriffs, to make sure they'd be alright when they left. They were sitting on the porch, folding clothes while Remus and Lily cleaned up a bit. "You've been sighing a lot."

Harry stared at James. The man, despite being his father, had been a stranger to him a few weeks back. Even now, despite the many things they had in common, he felt like there was a wall between them. "I am a stranger in this world." He said eventually, even though he hadn't wanted to.

James blinked at him. "That wasn't a question, was it?"

"No." Harry said, rather surprised that his father caught on so fast.

"Was it that book?"

Harry didn't respond. He kept his eyes on the robes they had bought in Diagon Alley.

"Harry..." James started, but he stopped. Then he got up and went back into the house. A moment later he returned with Lily by his side. "You should talk with your mother, Harry."

Harry frowned. He didn't want to give his mother more to worry about, but Lily Evans sat down next to him with a determined glimmer in her eyes, "James told me you're beginning to feel like an outsider."

Harry tensed his jaw. Not knowing what to say.

"I'm Muggleborn. I went through the exact same thing, Harry."

Harry looked up and stared into equally green eyes. That was right. His mother had been thrown into the Wizarding World at the age of eleven and had to deal with an entirely different culture and customs and laws. "How did you manage to fit in?"

"Well, marrying James helped. He taught me a lot and so did Sirius and Remus. Also I read a lot of books. It's okay not to know things, Harry. We're your family. Just ask. We'll be more than happy to teach you." Lily smiled at him.

Harry frowned. "I...read some things that upset me."

Lily sobered up immediately. "Severus also taught me a lot. Some of the more, wel, darker sides of the Wizarding World. Things I didn't nessecarily want to know, but sometimes had to know. I often felt frustrated and helpless. I liked to think Voldemort and his Death Eaters were the only type of evil in this world."

"What was he like? Snape? When he was young I mean?"

"Tired." Lily said, a frown marring her face. "And so afraid. Always wary of the world around him. Never allowed himself to be vulnerable. Tried to tough it all out as best he could. Tried to find a safe place, a home."

Harry bit his lip. "The bullying?"

Lily gave him a sad, almost apologetic frown. "The abuse, Harry. Severus grew up in a very abusive and unstable household. His father was a drunkard, his mother was an addict. The bullying made it worse. He thought that Hogwarts would be his safe place. In a way it was, but..." Lily trailed off with a slight frown on her face.

Harry swallowed thickly. "So... Snape is Muggleborn?"

"Not really. His father was a Muggle, but his mother was a witch. Tobias Snape... didn't like magic either."

Harry swallowed thickly. "Were you close?"

Lily chuckled. "We were best friends."

Harry choked on his tongue, spluttering for a few seconds while his mind conjured up images of Snape and his mother holding hands and skipping through a field of brightly colored flowers smiling happily. "Then... why'd you marry dad? He bullied Snape."

Lily sighed. "It's complicated."

Harry blinked, smart enough to know that was what a person said when they didn't want to talk about it. He stared out in front of him, watching the leaves dance in the gentle summer's breeze. He tried to imagine himself getting along with Snape, but even with the newfound knowledge that they had more in common than he would've liked, he just couldn't see it happening. Well, _maybe_ if he took the first step he could break through all those defenses. Maybe.


End file.
